Press

Tradesparq profiled on ICS Money Talks

Interview of Brian Hager, Founder of Tradesparq. Watch on Youku

A couple of Americans in China take on Alibaba with social… and, er, customs data

"Two things seem crazy about Tradesparq. The first thing is that it’s an Internet startup in China founded by two Americans. The second is that it thinks it can take on Chinese giant Alibaba and its business-to-business marketplace.

Tradesparq was founded in Shanghai in 2011 by Brian Hager and Michael Kleist, who started the company after leaving executive positions at Global Sources, an early Alibaba competitor. Hager and Kleist think Alibaba – whose B2B trading arm alone was valued at $6 billion when listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange – has an outdated approach and one glaring weakness: You can never really be sure who you’re trading with."

The Daily-Start-Up: Venture Firms Test Virtual Biotech Strategy

"A handful of venture firms have been trying to slash the time and cost of profiting from biotechnology investments through new, “virtual” drug-development approaches, but some are finding the strategy is taking longer to execute than expected. Biotech start-ups often consume $50 million to $100 million before they go public or are acquired. Venture capitalists have been looking to lower biotech costs to improve their odds of success."

Tradesparq sets out to rival Alibaba

"Established in 2010, the Shanghai-based business-to-business (B2B) trading platform is trying to get a step ahead of Hangzhou-based Alibaba.com, the world's largest B2B e-commerce service provider, envisioning a new online marketplace where Alibaba meets LinkedIn, a social networking site for professionals.

Tradesparq enables registered users to search a directory of suppliers and match those results against their own social networks. Membership costs US$150 a year, including product and company profiles."

DEMO Asia 2012 - Presentation

Presentation by Michael Kleist, Founder of Tradesparq

DEMO Asia 2012 - Interview

Interview of Brian Hager, Founder of Tradesparq

The Rise of the Niche Social Network

"Tradesparq.com reflects a social networking trend in which sites leverage who a person knows as a way to add credibility to potential business deals. Without LinkedIn, Tradesparq.com would be just another business-to-business site. With the professional network, the company can use a buyer's LinkedIn contacts to put him in touch with people who know the Chinese supplier bidding on a product request."

Tradesparq brings a social networking approach to sourcing foreign suppliers

"Tradesparq, a Shanghai based startup, is trying to simplify the process of locating a trustworthy manufacturing partner by allowing business owners to search a directory of global suppliers and match those results against their social network. Think Alibaba meets Linkedin.

Last year Tradesparq had 1.2 million inquiries and says its on pace to do four times that this year. It has backing from a mix of angels and institutions, including Ed Haynes, the CFO of China Omnicom Media and founder of Wangyou.com, an early Chinese social network."

TradeSparq：阿里巴巴+Linkedin的采购网站

"为什么人们会在Linkedin注册？其中一个原因在于，他们想和他们的同伴（卖家或者买家）保持联络。那么阿里巴巴这些年又是为什么这么流行呢，是因为它让国外用户很容易的找到数以千计的中国商品。但是，你在Linkedin上，通常并不知道你联系的公司实际销售的是什么产品；而在阿里巴巴，如果你是一个制造商，想要推广自己的产品通常需要支付高昂的会员费（供应商会费一年3012美元）。作为消费者，你很难搞清楚到底应该相信哪家供应商。当然，TradeSparq想解决的问题远不止这些。

TradeSparq2010年由Michael Kleist、Brian Hager、William Hund以及其他几个在上海的外国人联合成立。其核心成员Michael曾是SEA的全球资源前主管，并为其全球贸易市场工作了许多年。"

TradeSparq Introduces Social Sourcing, It Is the Alibaba Combined With Linkedin

"We love to talk to local startups and we’ve seen more and more well designed products (sites and apps) are doing great in the local market. But, we have to admit that it’s still not easy to find a product whose business model is kinda unique even in the global market. TradeSparq is one of the exceptions which I don’t know any western service to compare with."